Okay, so I’ve been wanting to post this for a while now, but I’m lazy about taking photos.  A few months ago, I decided to make some cool trades onEtsy.  I traded a few things for a few bracelets and art prints from different sellers.  Well, after a while of having these items, I’ve decided I LOOOOOOVE my peridot and pearl bracelet from Beadside Myself.  It rocks.  I was especially drawn to it because peridot was my mother’s birthstone and pearl is my maternal grandmother’s birthstone, so it literally called to me from its etsy shop.

So, since I loved the bracelet so much, I asked Beadside Myself to make a bridal pin for my sister-in-law, which also turned out beautifully.  It’s a something old, something new, and something blue pin to which I will add my something borrowed on the day of her wedding (the ring her mom gave me).  When Beadsidemyself sent me the pin, she also included two adorable bracelets for my daughter’s birthday, and they are cute, cute, cute!!!  Just look at ‘em:

So, I thought I’d take a moment to promote Beadside Myself, because her work rocks and she deserves mad props.  Not only are her prices extremely reasonable, but her work is very nicely constructed and sturdy.  A rare combination in jewelry, if you ask me.

So, I love my career (most of the time), REALLY love my side-job-that-will-hopefully-become-my-real-job, aka my Etsy shop; but I hate my job.  I love teaching, and I’m passionate about most of the classes I teach.  But today sucked.  Today, I:

1. Fought with rowdy high school freshmen who couldn’t handle being in a different classroom than we usually occupy;
2. Worked my butt off to distribute yearbooks that I had been working on for a year;
3. Argued with parents and students who love to tell me that this thing I’ve devoted a year of my life to sucks completely because I missed something that relates directly to them.
4. Screamed and cried and swore many expletives about how much I hate my job on days like today.

So anyway, like I said, my career is cool, my job sucks.  Note to Steph:  I’m ready when you are to open up that yarn shop and spend all day touching yarn and crocheting and teaching other people to love touching yarn and crocheting.

So, I bought this monstrous ball of yarn at MD Sheep and Wool. Well, I should say it’s not so much a ball as it was a mass, or a wad, or a gigantic tangled mess. At least, that’s what it became after my husband and I attempted to wind it into a ball. Here’s what it looked like on Monday:

Then I’ve been working on it ever since, sometimes with help. Here are my friend, Stephanie, and my student, Alexis, helping me:

Now, of course, Stephanie is a big yarnie like I am, but Alexis is a novice. Just look at her concentration here:

She’s hooked, alright. The yarn addiction sinks in as the lanolin smoothes her skin. Ha ha ha ha ha!

Next up, we’ll teach her how to work with the yarn once it’s wound!

My little girl turned three on Saturday – I can hardly believe it! Here are some of the cutest photos …

Here she is with her friend, Jake.

Here she is with her friend, Karl.

We had a great time at her Spider-Man party with her friends, and her Disney Princess party here at home. Happy day!!!

Here’s another one of my springtime scarves. It’s made of a really fun bamboo/cotton/elastic blend, and it’s super-soft and lightweight. The yarn is a fun combination of blues and greens (my favorites, of course), and this represents the first thing I’ve made from my new Maryland Sheep & Wool stash.

This one is for sale at my shop, http://jessecreations.etsy.com.